AP PHOTOS: Joyous Holy Week celebrations around the world

**Vatican Pope Palm Sunday** Pope Francis sits on the popemobile on his way to the altar to celebrate the Palm Sunday's mass in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican Sunday, April 2, 2023 a day after being discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where he has been treated for bronchitis, The Vatican said. The Roman Catholic Church enters Holy Week, retracing the story of the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

**Israel Palestinians Holy Week** Christians walk in the Palm Sunday procession on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem, Sunday, April 2, 2023. The procession observes Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians mark on Good Friday. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

**Guatemala Holy Week** Faithful dressed as Roman soldiers take part in a Holy Thursday procession outside the San Cristobal el Bajo Catholic church, in Antigua, Guatemala, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

**Mexico Holy Week** Villagers wearing costumes take part in a Holy Thursday celebration in Santa Rosalia, in the municipality of Mulege, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Emilio Espejel)

**Ecuador Holy Week** A man carries the image of Jesus Christ previous the procession for the Holy Week in Puellaro, Ecuador, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

**Colombia Holy Week** A devotee holds a cross and an image of Jesus Christ during a Good Friday procession in the Ciudad Bolivar neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

**Philippines Palm Sunday** Catholic devotees wave their palm fronds during rites to commemorate Palm Sunday, which marks the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, Sunday, April 2, 2023 in Manila, Philippines. More devotees have flocked to churches after COVID restrictions the past couple of years prevented many from joining traditional Palm Sunday rites as this largely Roman Catholic nation enters the observance of Holy Week. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

**Vatican Pope Palm Sunday** Palm bearers arrive in a procession at the start of the Palm Sunday's mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican Sunday, April 2, 2023 a day after being discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where he has been treated for bronchitis, The Vatican said. The Roman Catholic Church enters Holy Week, retracing the story of the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

**Vatican Pope Palm Sunday** A view of the Palm Sunday's mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican Sunday, April 2, 2023 a day after being discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where he has been treated for bronchitis, The Vatican said. The Roman Catholic Church enters Holy Week, retracing the story of the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection three days later on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

**Spain Holy Week** Members of the band practice prior to the procession at the Veracruz church in Aguilar de la Frontera, southern Spain, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

**Spain Holy Week** Penitents of "Los Estudiantes" brotherhood gather in one of the courtyards of the University of Seville before starting the procession, Spain, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

**Britain Holy Week** The Passion of Jesus is performed to crowds in Trafalgar Square, London, Friday, April 7, 2023 on Good Friday by actors from the Wintershall Players. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)

**Venezuela Holy Week** Young members of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood arrive with palm branches after descending the Cerro el Avila, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 1, 2023. Every year the brothers climb the Cerro El Avila to collect the royal palm branches as part of a 250-year tradition that marks the start of Holy Week. The palms will be blessed at the Palm Sunday Mass in the Chacao church. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

**Colombia Holy Week** View of the Santísima Trinidad y San Antonio de Padua de Zipaquirá Cathedral, during the Holy Thursday procession in Zipaquira, Colombia, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

**Venezuela Holy Week** A girl blows a whistle as she descends the Cerro el Avila with members of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 1, 2023. Every year the brothers climb the Cerro El Avila to collect royal palm branches as part of a 250-year tradition that marks the start of Holy Week. The palms will be blessed at the Palm Sunday Mass in the Chacao church. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

**Israel Palestinians Holy Week** Catholic nuns hold candles during the Holy Thursday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

**Philippines Holy Week** A hooded Filipino penitent flagellates himself as part of Maundy Thursday rituals to atone for sins or fulfill vows for an answered prayer on April 6, 2023 at Mandaluyong city, Philippines. COVID restrictions the past years have prevented crowds and devotees in participating in lenten rituals, a practice which have been opposed by the church in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

**Global Spain Holy Week** Penitents from "La Candelaria" brotherhood walk across the Seville cathedral as they takes part in a procession, Spain, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

**Panama Holy Week** Faithful participate in the Holy Thursday procession at Casco Antiguo neighborhood in Panama City, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

**Brazil Holy Week** Penitents with tunics and hoods take part in the Procession of Souls in a Holy Week celebration in Goias, 350 km (217 miles) west of Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Penitents pray for souls, asking for the removal of the dead from purgatory. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

**Spain Holy Week** A portable dais platform which supports a statue of the Virgin Mary, is carried by "costaleros" during a procession in Seville, Spain, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

**Colombia Holy Week** Faithful carry a cross to the Árbol de la Vida or Tree of Life during a Good Friday procession in the hills of the Ciudad Bolivar neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

**Colombia Holy Week** Faithful raise a giant wooden cross before the Árbol de la Vida or Tree of Life during a Good Friday procession in the hills of the Ciudad Bolivar neighborhood of Bogota, Colombia, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

**Colombia Holy Week** Members of the Nazarene brotherhood take part in the Holy Thursday procession in Zipaquira, Colombia, Thursday, April 6, 2023. se alistan antes(AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

**Nigeria Palm Sunday** Catholic faithfuls march carrying Palm fronds to commemorate Palm Sunday, which marks the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday, April 2, 2023. The ceremony marks the beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

**Venezuela Holy Week** Members of the Palmeros de Chacao brotherhood, chant and sing, as they arrive with palm branches after descending the Cerro el Avila, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, April 1, 2023. Every year the brothers climb the Cerro El Avila to collect the royal palm branches as part of a 250-year tradition that marks the start of Holy Week. The palms will be blessed at the Palm Sunday Mass in the Chacao church. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

**Kenya Good Friday** Christian faithfuls pray near the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, April, 7, 2023 on Good Friday during the Holy Week of Easter. Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. .(AP Photo/Sayyid Abdul Azim)

**Lithuania Holy Week** Archbishop Gintaras Grusas, center, speaks during the Holy Week procession at the Three Crosses hill in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

**Paraguay Holy Week** Faithful reenact the Way of the Cross in Atyra, Paraguay Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

**Haiti Holy Week** Faithful take part in a Good Friday procession in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

**Germany Holy Week** An actor portraying the part of Jesus Christ, carries the cross during the Good Friday procession in the city center of Wuppertal, Germany, Friday, April 7, 2023. Christians around the world are commemorating Good Friday, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

**Vatican Holy Week** Cardinals hold candles as Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

**Vatican Holy Week** Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

**Lithuania Holy Week** A priest blesses the congregations during an Easter service, at the Church of St Theresa in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

**Romania Holy Week** A girl leans on a Romanian orthodox priest before an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

**Romania Holy Week** Romanian Orthodox priests and believers stand outside the Patriarchal Cathedral after an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

**Romania Holy Week** A Romanian orthodox priest and a worshiper are backdropped by religious paintings before an Orthodox Palm Sunday pilgrimage in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 8, 2023. According to local media hundreds of priests and Orthodox worshippers marched through the Romanian capital and major cities ahead of Palm Sunday. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

**Holy Week Kentucky** A youngster collects Easter eggs during the egg hunt of more than 35,000 Easter eggs at Easterfest at the Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky., Saturday, April 8, 2023. The event, hosted by the BG Hot Rods and WBKO News, featured visits with the Easter Bunny, games, prizes and Easter egg hunts divided by age groups. (Grace Ramey/Daily News via AP)

**Holy Week Florida** Louis "Jerry" Barrios, second from left, reacts after being baptized by Co-Pastors Rev. Brian Glasford, right, and his brother Rev. Jason Glasford, left, in the Atlantic Ocean during an Easter sunrise service with the New Life Missionary Baptist Church, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

**Holy Week Washington** "Jesus" is displayed on a large monitor and worship songs are played on stage as people gather for the "Easter Sunrise Service" at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Washington, hosted by the National Community Church. The Washington Monument is silhouetted as the sun rises and is seen beyond the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

**Holy Week Washington** People gather and sing songs of worship during an "Easter Sunrise Service" at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, April 9, 2023, in Washington, hosted by the National Community Church. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

**Holy Week Israel Palestinians** Palestinian Christians attend Palm Sunday Mass in a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

**Holy Week Israel Palestinians** Priests participate in the Easter Sunday Mass led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

**Holy Week Panama** Faithful carry a float during the Easter Sunday procession in Panama City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

**Holy Week Panama** People attend an Easter Sunday procession in Panama City, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

**Holy Week New York** People in costumes are pictured during the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival on Fifth Avenue in New York, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

**Spain Holy Week** Penitents of the "Padre Jesus Nazareno" brotherhood carry a portable dais platform which supports a statue of Jesus Christ carried by "costaleros"during the holy week procession in Priego de Cordoba, southern Spain, Friday, April 7, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

**Philippines Holy Week** Hooded Filipino flagellants pray as part of Maundy Thursday rituals to atone for sins or fulfill vows for an answered prayer on April 6, 2023 at Mandaluyong city, Philippines. COVID restrictions the past years have prevented crowds and devotees in participating in lenten rituals, a practice which have been opposed by the church in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

**Nicaragua Holy Week** Priests arrives during Holy Thursday celebration before a Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

**Brazil Holy Week** Hooded penitents take part in the Procissao do Fogareu or Torch Procession, in Goias, 350 km, 217 miles, west of Brasilia, Brazil, early Thursday, April 6, 2023. The Holy Thursday procession is a reenactment of Christ's arrest by Roman soldiers represented by "farricocos," who dress in colored robes with cone-shaped hats. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

**Nicaragua Holy Week** Faithful take part in the procession of Jesus of the Great Power, at La Merced church in Granada, Nicaragua, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

**Spain Holy Week** Hooded penitent from the "Santa Veracruz" brotherhood carries a cross while taking part in a Holy Week procession as people look on, in Calahorra, northern Spain, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

**Mexico Holy Week** Villagers wearing costumes take part in a Holy Thursday local celebration in the town of Santa Rosalia, in the municipality of Mulege, Baja California Sur state, Thursday, April 6, 2023.(AP Photo/Emilio Espejel)

**Spain Holy Week** Worshipper Jose Maria Segura sings a "saeta" as the Virgin Mary is carried out of the church during the procession of "El Cerro" brotherhood in Seville, Spain, Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

**Mexico Holy Week** Artisan Gabriel Gutierrez paints a "Pachuco" version of Judas at the Santa Maria La Ribera Cultural Center in Mexico City, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Every Holy Saturday Mexicans get ready for the traditional "burning of Judas". During this popular activity on the sidelines of the Holy Week celebrations of the Catholic Church, people gather in neighborhoods across the country to burn cardboard figures of Judas that represent evil. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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From dressing as Roman soldiers in Antigua, Guatemala, to carrying palm fronds on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week.

For millions of Christians, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, known as Holy Week, is the most sacred time of the year. It’s the week Christians commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ.

The week began with Palm Sunday, where mass at the Vatican was celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square the day after he was discharged from the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, where the Vatican said he was treated for bronchitis.

In Bolivia’s highland region, artists gathered for an annual event where they built sand sculptures based on Bible stories. Members of the faithful in Brazil wore tunics and hoods to take part in the Procession of Souls in Goiás state. And in Managua, Nicaragua, a child dressed as an angel during an event observing Good Friday, during which a masked worshipper held a religious banner depicting Jesus Christ on a cross.

Half a world away, Catholic nuns held candles during a Holy Thursday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s the site where Jesus was crucified and buried according to tradition. Celebrations in Haiti included a Stations of the Cross reenactment in Port-au-Prince on Good Friday. In Spain, worshippers carried a portable dais platform supporting a statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of Seville.

In recent years, Holy Week has been scaled back due to COVID-19 restrictions that require precautions such as social distancing and mask use. However, this year many of the faithful gathered in celebrations reminiscent of the era before the virus changed the nature of religious observance.

This year’s Holy Week was a year for gathering together in prayer.

AP PHOTOS: Joyous Holy Week celebrations around the world

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AP PHOTOS: Joyous Holy Week celebrations around the world

Share This Gallery:

Related News

Tornadoes kill 2 in Oklahoma as governor issues state of emergency for 12 counties amid storm damage

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4th day of Israel-Hamas war protests continue at GW University

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